Hit the Road Running
by smaragdbird
Summary: Riddick acquires a partner. He's not too fond of that. (Riddick/Reaper)


Even for a guy like Riddick there are tight times. When there's no head-hunter on his trail whose ship and supplies he can take he has to find something else. His fuel is running low and he has two choices: Logica and Pulvis. One is a temperate high tech colony with more security than rocks in an asteroid belt and the other is a dirt poor back water hole.

Pulvis is easy. Logica is a challenge. Riddick likes challenges as long as they're not stupid. And he has escaped Logica before.

He grins to himself and sets the course for Logica.

/

Getting in is always easier than breaking out. As soon as they know you're there, there's not much use for subtlety. But Logica's labs house a lot of pissed off test subjects and they still power their entire city with one single hydropower station. It's laughable.

He's being followed. It's not a guard, the man's steps are too light for that, he's too good at sticking to the deepest shadows. Anyone watching them won't see him. Riddick probably wouldn't see him if it wasn't for his eyes.

"Sorry", he says when he reaches the shuttle he's picked out for himself. "I don't take passengers."

"You'll make an exception."

"Don't think so."

"Then I'll kill you and just take the shuttle."

"I'd like to see you try."

The man drops from the ceiling but Riddick sees him coming which surprises the man. Turns out he's not only good at following. He's fast, strong and Riddick hadn't had more fun in years.

Not many people are able to match him and certainly none of the head-hunters that had been after him so far.

For a moment they have to catch their breath.

"We can continue this or we could get the hell out of here", the man says.

"Why should I quit when I'm winning?" There's blood all over the guy's face.

The man rolls his eyes and wipes the blood from his face. There is nothing to show for the cut Riddick has left on his cheek but smooth, unmarred skin. "Are you done?"

Riddick tilts his head, intrigued. "What are you?"

"Do you care?"

"Not really." But he is curious on some level. The man doesn't smell like other humans. He smells old, old and dangerous. "What should I call you then?"

"Reaper." Behind his glasses Riddick rolls his eyes. The guy may be a good fighter but he's a melodramatic little shit.

"I'm Riddick."

"I know."

"Then get your ass in here and help me get this off the planet."

/

"Anywhere you want me to drop you off´?" Riddick's watching Reaper from the corner of his eye.

"Not particularly", Reaper says and leans back. "Where're you're going?"

"None of your fucking business."

"You're stuck with me now."

"I doubt that."

"They'll think you're my partner. You think bounty hunters are bad? They look like fucking school kids next to these guys."

"And why would they want you so badly?" Riddick asks. Reaper doesn't look like's he's special, apart from his smell. But he's not Elemental, so why the fuck would Logica want him so badly?

"They believe I'm the key to Olduvai."

"Olduvai is a myth."

"It's been a couple years since then", Reaper agrees. "They think Olduvai is their best chance to defeat the Necros."

Riddick snorts. "You don't defeat Necros. You run from them like hell's on your heels."

"No need to tell me that. But yeah, you're stuck with me now."

"Isn't that great", Riddick says dryly.

"Relax, I'm pretty good at team work."

"Too bad", Riddick flashes him a fake smile. "I'm not."

/

"How about Umbra?" Reaper asks, looking at a map. Riddick doesn't really care. He'll get rid of Reaper first chance. He doesn't do partners. But Umbra sounds like a particularly stupid idea. It's a smuggler planet. If you're looking for a fugitive you're looking on Umbra first.

"Hiding in plain sight is your best idea?" His tone makes clear just how fucking stupid he thinks that idea is.

Reaper grins. "I've been doing this for a long time. Trust me, Umbra is the best we can do."

"Whatever", Riddick mutters and sets the course.

/

On Umbra Reaper clings to him like a fucking shadow. Even when Riddick goes to collect an old debt from a woman he knew once. Else there's no incident. No one from Logica or anywhere else shooting at them.

Well, the collecting doesn't go smoothly but that's what Riddick's expected. The woman owns him a lot and she rather parts with an arm and a leg than her money.

"Shoot the man", Riddick tells Reaper.

Reaper shakes his head. "I don't kill innocents."

Riddick snorts. "No one's innocent here."

"They are for me", Reaper says and bats his hand away.

"Suit yourself." So instead he shoots the woman in her remaining leg.

That does the trick.

/

Five planets, five uneventful stops for new shuttles, fuel and food. There's one three man bounty hunter team that finds him but what would be an insult if he was alone is a fucking joke with Reaper at his back.

Their luck runs out on Ictus spectacularly.

One foot on the planet and Reaper gets a neat little headshot right between his eyes. He's dead before he hits the ground.

Riddick takes cover behind a stack of crates and waits. From what Reaper has told him these guys will need his body and for the body they have to come down.

These guys may be lucky but they're also fucking impatient. Riddick hears footsteps just as soon as he expected.

What he doesn't expect is the sound of bones breaking and Reaper standing over him, blood spattered and grinning. "What are you waiting for?"

/

"What the fuck are you?" Riddick growls and presses Reaper against the wall, his hands and legs apart as soon as they're back in the air.

"I told you."

"Don't give me that shit about Olduvai."

"It's the truth."

"Olduvai was destroyed 500 years ago. How can it be the fucking truth?"

"Do you think my healing is a fucking party trick?" Reaper breaks out of his hold as if Riddick is a damn low-gravity worlder and pins him to the floor. "I've been on the run for 500 fucking years. You won't get bounty for me. As soon as you hand me over they'll kill you. Now, will you help me or not?"

"Fine, now get me off", Riddick says. He waits for the moment Reaper loosens his grip on him to flip them over.

Reaper rolls his eyes. "I really don't want to snap your neck until I have to."

But Riddick smirks and presses his groin against Reaper's arse. "I said, get me off."

"We could have done this weeks ago", Reaper says exasperatedly.

"You're gonna say no?"

Reaper flips them around again and straddles Riddick. "Hell no."

/

"Why are you even running if you're immortal?" Riddick asks afterwards.

"Cause those experiments fucking hurt. Why are you running?"

"I'm bored easily."

"Where do you want to go then?"

"Ever been inside the Langkawi colony?" Riddick asks with a glint in his eye. Langkawi is one of the poshest places in the galaxy. It'd be suicide for one man but with Reaper, who knows?

"Can't say I have."

"Then you're in for a pretty interesting game", Riddick says and sets the course.


End file.
